Today’s blog will honor this great make-your-teeth-hurt “holiday.”

I never had a Halloween costume of my own. The one I wore for a few consecutive years when I was a child — Raggedy Ann with mask and apron-style dress — was a hand-me-down, naturally. My sister used to take me trick-or-treating. I remember the excitement of it all, especially when the door opened and I’d see a classmate or some other familiar face from school.

The best part of the day was emptying my little pumpkin-shaped candy-gathering container. Like breakfast cereals with marshmallows in them, the best candy would be devoured first. The first candies to go down the gullet were Now & Laters, Nerds, Bottlecaps, anything gummy, red licorice and candy corn. The leftovers usually consisted of Sour Balls, Star Mints, and Jolly Ranchers — especially the old ones where they seemed to have already “melted.” Sorry, but Jolly Ranchers are the most terrible candy, especially watermelon flavor, which tasted like vomit IMHO.

Anyway, one of the things I thought about recently is that I don’t have any pictures of me in costume when I was a kid. I have quite a few from just 5 years ago, but none from when I was little. I just don’t think Halloween was a big deal to me when I was little. The last time I remember dressing up was in 3rd grade. I was a witch with a makeshift costume. I had the point hat, but wore an old coat and a cat shirt and pant set. What a classy lass I was. :/

When middle school rolled around, I graduated from trick-or-treating and moved on to candy passer outer (or whatever the term should be). I remember one particular night where my friend’s crush and his friend came to the door. I was a little embarrassed because my friend had convinced me that her crush liked me and I kinda liked him and for 10 seconds, there we were, face to face.

Halloween gradually died out over the years. Every year the number of kids coming to our door dwindled as families moved out of my neighborhood, replaced by large families of adults without kids. Eventually even my mom stopped buying candy. So, every Halloween would become “Turn off the lights and draw the curtains” day. Still, every once in a while the door would ring ’til it stopped ringing completely.

The last time I went trick-or-treating was in my first year in college. I don’t know what possessed me to do such a thing, but damn was it fun. I can’t recall how many houses I went to, but I was surprised that I was getting candy still.

I’ve also passed on giving out candy. The last time I remember our doorbell ringing was about 2 years ago. Something just died inside me. Halloween just isn’t as fun anymore. A sign of getting old perhaps? Or just a sign of the times?

Maybe once I live in a house and in a neighborhood where there are really kids around, I’ll buy the mixed bag of candies. Or maybe one year I’ll get to take my bf’s niece and nephew around to get their fill of sugary goodness.

Until then, Halloween will just be a distant memory.

Lesson Learned: Candy may be bad for your health, but trick-or-treating is great exercise!